‘He is chasing his dream’: Son of rugby league legend signs with Waratahs

The teenage son of rugby league legend Brad Fittler will embark on a career in a rival code next year after signing a deal with the NSW Waratahs.

Zach Fittler, a bullocking 18-year-old who plays centre, last week put pen to paper on a two-year contract with the Super Rugby outfit after several months of weighing up a future in union or league.

Fittler will join the Waratahs on a two-year elite development deal, which will put him in a group of six to seven talented juniors who train part-time with Super Rugby squads, but are not in the main squad. As owners of the Waratahs, Rugby Australia was also involved in the deal.

“He is chasing his dream,” Brad Fittler told this masthead.

“I am just like every other parent, you sit back and you wish them the best. You try not to dump pressure on them, and just enjoy the experience. He really enjoyed his school and his school rugby.”

Zach Fittler is in the Australian under 18 rugby squad.

Fittler has been on the radar for the Waratahs for several years after emerging as a talented junior in rugby, primarily at Scots College in Sydney’s east.

The youngster played three years in the GPS first XV competition and was a dominant figure in the NSW under-16 side that won the national championships in 2022.

At 105kg, Fittler is bigger than his father was at the same age and NSW Rugby talent identification manager Andrew Cleverley told this masthead last year they viewed the youngster as a perfect fit to develop into a ball-carrying inside centre in rugby.

Fittler also played as a back-rower for the Roosters in Harold Matthews and SG Ball teams, however, and was a member of the NSW Junior Blues squad in 2022.

But carrying the pressure of one of rugby league’s most famous surnames, Zach Fittler has elected to carve out his own path and begin a professional career in the 15-man game.

“He is now at that age where the size thing isn’t as much a factor, and doesn’t have as much impact. It comes down to how bad you want it,” Brad Fittler said.

“This next stage is always the most enjoyable stage. I just hope he does well.”

Zach is in Canberra with the Australian under-18s squad ahead of trial matches against the Australian Schools team on Thursday. The final Australian Schools and Under-18 squads will be named on Friday for their tour of New Zealand in October.

The Waratahs confirmed Fittler had signed a deal for 2025 and 2026.

“Given Zach’s character, attitude and ability, we are very excited for him to continue developing in the NSW Waratahs pathways system for the next two years,” Cleverley said in a statement.

Signing Fittler is a win for rugby in the hotly contested fight between codes for teenage talent, which has seen rugby league increasingly picking off the best young rugby juniors.

Zach Fittler playing for the Waratahs under 16s in 2022.Credit: © Karen Watson - Rugby AU Media

It is also some vindication of NSW Rugby’s contentious decision to adjust pathway selection policies and pick players already connected to NRL clubs, to show them an alternate future in rugby.

Fittler will train part-time with the Waratahs’ main squad, where he will rub shoulders with the likes of Joseph Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, Andrew Kellaway and Taniela Tupou, and play club rugby in Sydney, likely starting in colts.

The 18-year-old will also play for the Waratahs academy side in the Super Rugby under-19s competition next year, from which the Junior Wallabies (under-20s) side is selected.

It is rare for an elite development player to be called up to play in Super Rugby, but many progress into main squad contracts.

Zach Fittler playing for the Roosters Harold Matthews side in 2022.

New Waratahs coach Dan McKellar told this masthead earlier in the month that nailing the talent identification process in NSW rugby was a major priority.

“One thing we’ve got to do at New South Wales is – and I’ve been on the other side of the fence for so long trying to pick the eyes out of the talent up here – is we’ve got to keep our best young players,” McKellar said.

“Whether it’s Zach [Fittler] or Toby Brial or whoever it might be, we need to ensure that we provide an environment and a program where they look at it and go, ‘That’s close to home and I know I’ve got the best chance of being the best rugby player I could possibly be by being involved in that club’.

“That’s a real focus for me. We’re going to make sure that our academy and our pathways programs are humming, and we get our identification of talent right, because it’s probably harder when you’ve got so much choice.”

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